Broncos' secondary provides sparks in thrilling victory over Saints

Denver Broncos free safety Darian Stewart (26) celebrates his interception against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Nov. 13, 2016.

Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) caught in the backfield against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans on Nov. 13, 2016.

NEW ORLEANS — Gary Kubiak folded his arms, stood in the middle of the end zone and watched as his players ran through the motions of their offense during warm-ups. For nearly 20 minutes, the Broncos' coach never flinched, never budged from the “N” of the black-and-gold “Saints” painted on the field.

He had given his order: He wanted a fight for the full 60 minutes. He watched intently, hoping his message was received and that the Broncos' rough patch would soon end.

It was. It did.

Behind a secondary that intercepted two passes and recovered two fumbles, then a blocked an extra-point attempt and ran it back for a defensive two-point conversion, the Broncos eked out a thrilling 25-23 victory against New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Denver now heads into a much-needed bye week with a critical road victory and a 7-3 record.

“I am very proud of our team,” Kubiak said. “We fought all day long. That was our message last night in our team meeting. I just want to see everybody fight. Coaches, players and everybody laid it on the line. It was a great football game.”

The stars made themselves known early. Broncos safety Darian Stewart picked off quarterback New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees on back-to-back possessions in the first half. Then he recovered a fourth-quarter fumble forced by cornerback Bradley Roby and ran it back 28 yards to set up a game-tying touchdown catch by receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Later in the fourth quarter, fellow safety T.J. Ward recovered a fumble forced by defensive end Jared Crick, which led to a field goal. Then, seconds after Brees engineered a go-ahead touchdown drive in the final minute and a half, rookie safety Justin Simmons leaped to block an extra-point attempt by Will Lutz of the Saints. Denver's Will Parks scooped the ball up and sprinted 75 yards for the game-winning two-point score, which was upheld on review.

The Broncos practiced the play last week, but Kubiak wasn't sure they would use it.

“There are certain situations in games where you say that it's worth the risk,” Kubiak said. “That was one of them. I'm sitting there thinking about us having to go kick a field goal. I hear everybody go crazy and I look up and there goes Will.”

The defense played hero, but the offense, painful to watch at times, had its bright spots. Thomas turned in his most complete game of the season, catching eight of 11 passes thrown to him — some one-handed — for 87 yards and a touchdown.

The Broncos' rushers gained yards, too, eclipsing their total of 85 yards over the past two games. Sunday they gained 103 yards on 37 carries, with rookie Devontae Booker running for 76 on 24 carries.

And the season-long trend of starting slow ended. The Broncos, who had allowed 41 points to opponents on their first possessions in the previous nine games, changed their opening script Sunday and capped their first possession with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Taylor.

The Broncos finally scored first and controlled the clock. But inconsistencies and miscues remained.

The offensive line fared better at clearing lanes for rushers, but it stumbled in pass protection. Siemian was sacked six times and hit 11. Many times he was forced to throw the ball away as the pocket collapsed around him. Right tackle Donald Stephenson was benched late in the third quarter and replaced by Ty Sambrailo to try to alleviate some of the problems.

And Siemian, who connected with his receivers on multiple deep balls in tight coverage, also threw two interceptions, making poor decisions that set up 10 points for the Saints. He completed 25-of-40 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 76.9 passer rating.

"We have a knack for overcoming negative plays," Siemian said. "It wasn't perfect. We screwed up a few times, no doubt. I had my fair share of those. But the group really responded well and turned the negatives into points."

Brees completed 21-of-29 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns, the last putting the Saints on the brink of a victory. But Parks had other ideas as he ran down the sideline at the end of the game.

“Coach Kube was talking about he wanted a fight all game, Siemian said. “That's what he got. That's what you need to put down. We fight for a full 60 minutes. If you want to go 75, we'll go 75 with you. We'll probably go 76.”

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